100 officials in Henan held accountable for inadequate efforts in addressing air pollution

Thread Content

Today, Henan Province organized a teleconference on the second phase of efforts to combat air pollution. Chen Runer, Deputy Secretary of the Henan Provincial Party Committee and Governor of the province, attended the meeting and gave important directives regarding these efforts. At the meeting, the Henan Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision reported on 34 entities and enterprises that had violated environmental regulations and caused air pollution; a total of 100 people were held accountable for the 8 cases referred to them by the Office of the Provincial Leading Group for Air Pollution Prevention and Control. Since July 2016, discipline inspection and supervision agencies at all levels in Henan Province have, in accordance with the overall plans set forth by the provincial Party committee and provincial government for winning the battle against air pollution, earnestly implemented the \"Detailed Rules for Holding Party and Government Leaders Accountable for Environmental Damage\". Through strict accountability measures, they have urged such leaders to fulfill their duties properly in the field of environmental protection. Recently, the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Supervision Department, in conjunction with relevant departments and provincial-level cities, investigated and dealt with 8 cases of issues referred to them by the Office of the Provincial Leading Group for the Fight against Air Pollution. A total of 100 people were held accountable: 1 at the municipal/departmental level, 30 at the county/sectional level, 55 at the township/sectional level or below, and 14 at even lower levels. 68 people were subjected to party and administrative disciplinary actions, 14 were given admonitory talks, 13 were summoned for discussions, 1 person resigned out of guilt, and 4 people were required to submit written apologies. The meeting reported on the accountability measures taken regarding 3 typical cases of air pollution. 　　 In response to the dust pollution issue arising from the expansion project of the freight yard at Anyang Station of Zhengzhou Railway Bureau, 20 responsible persons (11 at the county or department level) were held accountable in accordance with the authority regarding cadre management. Among them, Han Yanzeng, the head of the Zhengzhou North Construction Section, and Lu Guoqin, the Party secretary of the same section, were given disciplinary warnings; Zhou Fei, the deputy head of the Zhengzhou North Construction Section, was given a severe disciplinary sanction ； Zhao Xinliang, the section chief of the Xinxiang Bridge Construction Team, and Liu Jianguo, the party secretary of the team, were ordered to submit written apologies; Dong Honggang, the deputy section chief of the Xinxiang Bridge Construction Team, was given a severe disciplinary sanction ； Wang Hongbing, the head of Anyang Railway Section, and Luo Zhiping, the Party secretary of the same section, were given warnings; Wang Yongmin, the Party secretary of Anyang Station, was given a reprimand ； Liu Fengen, the head of the Construction Management Department of Zhengzhou Railway Bureau, was ordered to submit a written apology, while Wu Haibin, the deputy head of the same department, was given a warning. 　　 In response to issues such as severe pollution caused by \"small, scattered, disorderly, and low-quality\" enterprises in the urban-rural fringe areas and suburbs of Xinxiang City, serious pollution from small machining enterprises that operate outdoors, significant pollution from cement production facilities, and inadequate measures to address road pollution in Xinxiang County, 17 responsible persons (6 at or above the county level) were held accountable in accordance with the authorities granted to officials for managing such matters. Among them, Zhi Wei, the vice mayor of Xinxiang City, was summoned for a discussion, while Hu Jiansen, the director of Xinxiang City’s Environmental Protection Bureau, was given an administrative warning ； Hou Shaomin, a member of the Party leadership group of the Muye District People’s Congress, was given a warning talk; Zhang Jiyou, the deputy head of the Fengquan District, was subjected to an administrative warning. Zhu Mingling, the assistant to the head of the Hongqi District, was also given a warning talk. Wang Jianxin, the deputy head of Xinxiang County, was ordered to submit a written apology and was publicly criticized throughout the city. 　　 In response to issues such as severe dust pollution in Pengpo Town and Chengguan Town of Yichuan County, Luoyang City, as well as the slow progress in the renovation of refractory material factories and sand processing plants, 13 responsible persons (4 at the county or department level) were held accountable in accordance with the authorities granted to officials for managing such matters. Among them, Ji Changjiang, the former deputy county head in Yichuan County responsible for environmental protection, was given an administrative warning; Fu Xiaoyi, the acting deputy county head, Shen Weimin, another deputy county head, and Zhang Guanxin, the head of the county labor union, were summoned for talks. 　　 Chen Run'er pointed out that since the launch of the campaign to combat air pollution across the province, Party committees at all levels in Henan have, in accordance with the directives set by the provincial Party committee, taken coordinated actions and made steady progress, resulting in initial successes in improving the air quality. However, it is also necessary to clearly recognize that compared with neighboring provinces and cities, as well as the requirements set by the central government, Henan still has a significant gap. For the next phase of work, Henan should adopt a proactive approach, identify existing gaps, carry out all tasks properly, and strive to make further progress. 　　 Chen Run'er emphasized that the entire province must focus on addressing problems and overcoming difficulties, and that during the implementation of the \"six controls,\" special attention should be paid to four key tasks. The first of these is dust control, as it is necessary to resolve issues related to garbage accumulation, material piles, waste materials, smelting activities, and painting processes ； Secondly, emissions must be reduced; all coal-fired power generation units that have not been modified to meet ultra-low emission standards must be shut down. Industrial furnaces, brick and tile kilns, as well as coal-fired systems used for purposes other than power generation, all require thorough rectification in accordance with the specific requirements set forth ； Thirdly, burning must be prohibited. At present, Henan must take effective measures to control pollution caused by straw burning; it is absolutely unacceptable to see fires breaking out everywhere, smoke filling the air, dust pollution occurring, and air quality deteriorating. Any such incidents must be dealt with seriously ； Fourthly, coal use needs to be controlled. While focusing on phasing out coal-fired boilers with a capacity of 10 steam tons or less, attention must also be paid to the issue of coal use in industries other than power generation, in order to reduce air pollution. 　　 Chen Run'er concluded by emphasizing the need to persevere in implementing relevant measures. The prevention and control of air pollution is not a temporary effort but a long-term struggle; it is necessary to adopt an approach that addresses both the symptoms and root causes, as well as short-term and long-term issues, to plan systematically and focus on key areas of intervention in order to resolve environmental quality problems at their source. Henan Province needs to achieve \"three types of driving forces\" through the control of air pollution: first, to drive Henan to adopt a concept of green development; second, to urge Henan to accelerate the transformation of its development model; third, to push Henan to improve its **governance capabilities. 　　 The meeting also commended 14 units and departments that had performed outstandingly and achieved significant results in the campaign to prevent and control air pollution, including Pingdingshan City **, Zhoukou City **, Ruzhou City **, the Provincial Public Security Department, and the Provincial Environmental Protection Department.